Crime

Najee Hasan Wilson, 27, is accused of throwing a 10-week-old pit bull-mix from the ground-floor balcony of his Duluth apartment.

Witnesses who were walking by the apartment told police they saw the puppy land on the ground and heard a loud thump.

The pit bull mix suffered head trauma, had a bloodshot eye and abrasions to her head. Doctors say because she is so young, they are optimistic that she can make a full recovery.

"I don't see any reason why she shouldn't go to a full recovery," Dr. Solveig Evans said. "It might be some time before we can tell the extent of her injuries because she did have head trauma but so far she's looking good."

GWINNETT COUNTY, Ga. -- Gwinnett County police have released a composite sketch of the robbery suspect accused of shooting a man almost a month ago.

It happened Jan. 6 near the Bridgewater Apartments in unincorporated Duluth.

The 24-year-old victim told police he was approached by the suspect near the apartment complex's West Liddell Road entrance. The suspect asked the victim for a cigarette, then pulled out a gun and demanded the victim's wallet.

Police said the victim struggled with the suspect, causing the suspect to shoot the victim in the right hand. The suspect ran off with the victim's wallet, while the victim returned to his apartment and called 911.

So far, police do not know of any witnesses to the shooting.

The victim described his attacker as a black man, about 30 years old, 5 feet 8 inches tall and 200 pounds, with scruffy facial hair. He also had a deep voice.

DULUTH, Ga. -- The vice president of Duluth High School's football booster club has been charged with stealing more than $18,000 from the organization.

Christian Antonette Houston, 56, faces six felony and two misdemeanor counts. Police believe she took $18,700 from the Duluth High School Touchdown Club.

Gwinnett County Schools spokeswoman Sloan Roach said Duluth High's football coach approached school administrators to say he believed some money was missing from the booster club. An investigation revealed the money was spent through forged checks that paid for Houston's personal items.

Roach said Houston took the money between May 1 and Dec. 31 of last year. She was arrested Tuesday and booked in the Gwinnett County Jail.

Over the course of your life, the chances of being the victim of a crime are at least one in three, higher if you live in a large city, and higher still if you’re a woman. The criminal’s objective is to maximize gain and minimize risk, and he’ll usually pick the easiest target with the most to offer. Given these odds, it pays to take precautions by following some basic safety rules:

DULUTH, Ga -- Police are calling it a shoplifting, but it could easily be called an assault. A female shoplifter was armed with pepper spray and wasn't afraid to use it when a store associate approached her.

It was a very bold crime because it happened at about 6:00 a.m. on October 8, when hardly anyone was in the Walmart on Pleasant Hill Road in Duluth.

Duluth Police released surveillance video from the store that showed the woman walk into the Walmart with the pepper spray already in her right hand, as if she knew she was going to be confronted.

"It's our belief that she knew that loss prevention would make contact with her if in fact she was shoplifting, and they did," said Det. Bobby Johnson. "And she came prepared."

GWINNETT COUNTY, Ga. -- A 19-year-old man wanted in Illinois was taken into custody in Gwinnett County over the weekend.

Devon Stidwell is a suspect in an Aug. 14 murder in Cook County. Gwinnett County Police received a tip that he was hiding at an extended stay hotel in the Duluth area.

Saturday, deputies spotted Stidwell and an acquaintance driving away from Extended Stay America on Venture Parkway near Gwinnett Place Mall. Gwinnett County Police Deputy Shannon Volkodav said police conducted a traffic stop and took Stidwell into custody.

The car's driver, 23-year-old Stacy Hall, was arrested on an outstanding probation violation warrant. Volkodov said Hall was also charged with giving a false name.

Both suspects are being held without bond in the Gwinnett County Jail.